LT, 6 February 2006. Considers whether the Land Compensation Act 1973 s19(3) applied in respect of a claim for compensation under Part I of the Act relating to depreciation in value of property caused by road noise. Developers had made an agreement (to which the affected landowners (O) had been party) with W to construct the Calne Northern Distributor Road (NDR) and which provided for the adoption of the NDR as a highway maintainable at public expense. W resisted O's claim for compensation under Part I of the Act contending that s19(3) applied. This states that no claim for compensation for depreciation under Part I can be made where a highway does not become maintainable at public expense within three years of opening which was the case with the NDR. O contended that s19(3) should be interpreted in accordance with the Human Rights Act 1998. "Held": claim dismissed. The possibility of a breach of Convention rights does not place any burden on the highway authority to establish the reasonableness or justification for the compensation provisions of the Act. The NDR was constructed by the highway authority under the Highways Act 1980 s24(2) and therefore was not maintainable at public expense from the date of its opening.